


Night Before Naadam

by Burgie



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: F/F, Miqo'te WoL, female WoL
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-28
Updated: 2019-09-28
Packaged: 2020-10-29 17:18:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20800094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: On the night before the Naadam, Lyse and Veronyka take the time to have a little chat.





	Night Before Naadam

"Get some rest, you've got a big day tomorrow."

Those words were familiar to Veronyka by now, to all of her friends, even. Everyone kept telling them to rest, to relax, but why? They had a war to fight, and sure, they couldn't exactly do that on a handful of hours of sleep, but they couldn't very well afford to be idle, either. Veronyka had always hated being idle. Hells, even now, the night before the Naadam that would decide whether or not Hien would return to Doma with an army of Xaela, Veronyka still couldn't quite keep still. Cirina had directed her towards the Mol's food stores at her request, and Veronyka had quickly found the chocolate powder and what she had surmised after a careful test of taste and smell and consistency was milk. Hopefully coming from something that at the very least resembled a cow or sheep. It tasted okay, though.

After carefully boiling a pot of milk over a flame conjured by magic, Veronyka poured the hot milk over the chocolate powder in the two mugs and fetched a spoon to stir it. It tasted okay, the taste at once warming her and reminding her nostalgically (and almost painfully) of the days when she'd been so innocent and naive. Before she'd had her drink poisoned, along with the rest of Lichgang. That had been fun. Of course, that had eventually paled in comparison to all that she had learned. What was a drugged drink when your girlfriend had been snatched away by a god, right?

But no. Veronyka shook her head, her earrings jangling quietly. She couldn't, shouldn't, think about that now. Not now, after how happy the past few weeks had been with Lyse. Even just looking at her sitting by the fire, eyes half-lidded, had Veronyka's spirits lifting, a smile curving her lips once more. It was even enough for her to ignore the slight tremble in her left hand as she picked up the two mugs and carried them back over to the campfire.

Her friends sat around it too, of course, but, as ever, Veronyka was drawn to the blonde hair that she'd come to love so much. Running her fingers through it, feeling the unexpected soft silkiness of it, just... seeing it against her shoulder as Lyse lay behind her. The way it fanned out behind her when she swam, which was so much more often now that the Kojin had given them an enchantment to breathe underwater. Right now, though, it was up, fastened with the golden clasp that caught the firelight.

"Hey, you," said Lyse, perking up with a smile as she caught sight of her girlfriend. Probably mostly the firelight glinting off the chains of her Sharlayan student coat that she'd bought in Idyllshire.

"Thought you could use something warm and comforting," said Veronyka, taking her place beside Lyse and trying to decide if she could sit without spilling the precious liquid. Her right hand might be okay, but her left...

"You mean like your scary dad over there?" Lyse asked, raising an eyebrow. Veronyka looked and was delighted to see Jack with the group.

"When did he get here?" Veronyka asked. Lyse laughed.

"He's been here all night! You didn't notice?" Lyse asked.

"No," said Veronyka, her cheeks warming from more than just the fire. Lyse shook her head, still laughing.

"Am I really that distracting?" Lyse asked. "Maybe I should've kept the mask on and my hair hidden."

"No!" Veronyka blurted, horrified at the mere thought.

"I'm kidding," said Lyse, her blue eyes shining with mirth. "Is one of those for me?"

"Well, yeah, I'm not the warm and comforting thing," said Veronyka.

"Hey, don't say that, you're the warmest and comfiest part of this whole trip," said Lyse.

"Really?" Veronyka asked, her heart thumping just that little bit faster.

"Mm-hm," Lyse hummed affirmatively, nodding. She rose to her feet. "Here, I'll take one before you drop it."

"Nobody's ever really described me as that before," said Veronyka, taking a seat after Lyse had taken the mug from her shaking hand. Sometimes, Veronyka wondered if Lyse felt guilty about that, though she had no reason to. She'd never said as much, not since that battle, but sometimes, there was this look in her eyes that made Veronyka want to hide her weakness. It reminded her too much of the one she'd lost, the one who would fret over it forever.

"I know I hadn't really seen you since that awful dinner," said Lyse, sitting so that her knee touched Veronyka's once Veronyka sat next to her. "And you did seem... really, really sad when you came back from Coerthas. Almost like the cold had gotten into your bones, into your soul, even."

"Yeah, it kind of felt like that," said Veronyka. "Finding out a god stole your girlfriend and she's not coming back will do that to you." She shook her head. "Sorry, I know, I shouldn't talk about her..."

"I don't mind," said Lyse, looking strangely serious. "I know what she meant to you. I was... I was there."

"You're a terrible liar," said Veronyka, seeing the hurt in her eyes. Lyse sighed, looking away from her.

"It was so much easier to hide my feelings with the mask," Lyse muttered. She sipped at her hot chocolate. "This is bloody good! Tell me you didn't have to do anything weird to get it."

"Surprisingly, no," said Veronyka. "Can't imagine what I would've had to do if they were out of milk or chocolate powder, though."

"Probably milk one of those sheep you had to chase around today," said Lyse. Veronyka giggled, glad for the distraction.

"Gather chocolate powder from Bardam's Mettle," said Veronyka. Lyse laughed, the sound warm, welcome. It had been missing lately, after all that they'd been through. Things were finally getting real for Lyse, and that terrified her. No matter how many times Veronyka or any of her friends reassured her that it would be okay, that she'd be a great leader.

"What did you guys have to do while Hien and I were being hostages today, anyway?" Lyse asked.

"Talked to the other tribes like the Dotharl," said Veronyka. "Or was it just the Dotharl?" She shook her head. "I honestly can't remember, I was so focused on just getting it done so I could come back and rescue you." There was no hiding the grin on Lyse's face now, nor did she want to hide it. Even as tears burned her eyes, tears that she rapidly blinked away lest her girlfriend see. She hated appearing weak, especially in front of the girl who'd already lost so much, who'd had her spirit crushed by the world before she emerged in flames and the robes of the black. Or so Alphinaud had told it.

"You know, I actually really hate being the damsel in distress," said Lyse.

"I never would have guessed," said Veronyka, such sarcasm in her voice that they both laughed, attracting more than a few glances from their friends.

"But seriously," said Lyse. "Today... I didn't hate it as much. And it was definitely thanks to the company."

"Should Eden and I be concerned?" Veronyka asked, tilting her head to one side. Lyse smiled at her.

"You know I've only had eyes for you since the minute I laid eyes on you," said Lyse. That made Veronyka blush, tucking her tail over her knees as her ears folded against her head. Lyse kissed her cheek, feeling the burn of her blush against her lips. "But no, you know I don't mean it like that. It's just... he's in the same position I am, you know?"

"Hm?" Veronyka asked, the noise not unlike a cat chirping to its owner. She lowered her knees down, relaxing her tail and bringing her mug to her lips. The hot chocolate really was good, even if not as good as the kind Haurchefant used to make. But melted chocolate was a luxury that few could afford, definitely not a tribe that was always on the move according to the whims of their gods.

"Leading a resistance army, trying to win back his homeland from the imperials," said Lyse. "Only, I guess- he was kind of raised for this, wasn't he? He knew it was a possibility. Me, though? I've just been trying to be my sister all these years and now I'm... the only thing I've done for me is fall in love with you. Kind of pathetic, isn't it?"

"No," said Veronyka. "And I'm not just saying that because I love you, either. You can do this, I know you can."

"That's what he told me today too," said Lyse, releasing a shaky sigh. She took another sip of her hot chocolate. "I don't know why him saying it made it sink in, but... I guess it's like if he can do it, I can do it. And he's got it so much worse than me even if he does have the advantage of being basically royalty. Isn't he royalty?"

"Don't ask me," said Veronyka, shrugging. She sipped at her drink again, the warm liquid warming her up from the inside.

"Anyway, that's why today wasn't so completely terrible," said Lyse. "Because he helped settle my nerves. Even if I am still bloody nervous about tomorrow."

"I think everyone's nervous about tomorrow," said Veronyka. "This whole thing hinges on tomorrow."

"Is that why you brought me hot chocolate?" Lyse asked.

"Maybe," said Veronyka, trying to sip her drink mysteriously. Lyse smiled at her.

"See, that's what I mean, you're warm and comforting," said Lyse. "You saw how I was after... well, you know."

"Now I know what I looked like," said Veronyka. "Only you didn't cry as much as I did. Just... throwing yourself into danger to escape your feelings. That's what I did after the alliance dinner. I guess I just... decided to be for you what I needed then. I needed comfort and my friends and Haurche supplied that. It was working up until Haurche died, and then when I spoke to Min..." She closed her eyes, and Lyse reflexively reached out and brushed away a tear the moment it fell.

"Sorry, didn't mean to make you think of that," said Lyse, cringing. "I should just shut up."

"Before you say you're a bad girlfriend, apparently it's also bad form to talk about your last one," said Veronyka, giving a shaky laugh. "So we're both making mistakes. But I am happy with you. Really happy."

"Not to sound like I'm tooting my own horn but I've noticed," said Lyse. "And I think your friends have too. Flying on our yols with you was..." She grinned now, a radiant grin that made Veronyka's heart flip in her chest.

"You nearly fell off so many times," said Veronyka, giggling.

"Hey, it's not my fault I've never flown before," said Lyse, just as she had back before they'd been taken in by Magnai.

Veronyka laughed as her girlfriend pouted at her, then stopped to take a larger sip of her hot chocolate. Lyse did the same, holding eye contact over the mugs.

"I hope we get the chance to fly them again," said Lyse.

"Someday, Gyr Abania will be free and you'll be able to fly your yol over that whole area," said Veronyka. "And I'll be right beside you."

"On your yol or your chocobo or your fatter cat or one of your horses or the magitek?" Lyse began to list on her fingers. Veronyka laughed again. It had been so hard to laugh once, and there had been a time when she'd thought that she'd never laugh again. Not anymore. Now, as though she were sunlight, Lyse was bringing Veronyka back to her old, happy self. The one that was always smiling and laughing, the one who was always eager to jump into anything, the one who could bounce back.

Their conversation continued for some time, as their mugs were emptied and the fire glowed warmly in front of them. Though tomorrow may bring devastation, it could just as easily bring victory. Bring about what needed to happen in order for Doma and then Gyr Abania to be freed from the grip of the imperials. Of tonight, however, there was the certainty of warm love wrapping around them, of comfort and company and firelight.

And when Lyse fell asleep with her head resting on Veronyka's shoulder, the love that filled Veronyka was enough to banish any of that darkness. Enough to fight an entire army of imperials and Ascians both. Enough to fight gods, even. Or just to win the Naadam. They could definitely start with that.


End file.
